Filing apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LII: A

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April 13, 1943.

R. P. SCHOLFIELD FILING APPARATUS Filed April 1, 1941 April 1943- R; P.SCHOLFIELD 2,316,489

FILING APPARATUS Filed April 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a rw WWW Richag'dPatented Apr. 13, 1943 FILING APPARATUS Richard P. Scholfield, New York,N. Y., assignor to Scholfield Service, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application April 1, 1941, Serial No. 386,326

' 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to filing apparatus of the type wherein aplurality of cards are secured upon the periphery of a rotatable filingdrum, to facilitate access to a great plurality of cards by an operator.The invention includes modifications of, improvements upon and additionsto filing apparatus of the types shown in the prior patent to Scholfieldet al. No. 2,046,655, July 7, 1936 and in my application Serial No.75,883, filed April 22,1936, now Patent No. 2,231,- 029, February 11,1941.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved card retainingrail structures, adapted to perform certain new and improved functions.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved card retainingmeans, whereby a plurality of cards may be removed simultaneously or enbloc from the periphery of the drum.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved card retainingrail shapes and cards having novel slots therein adapted to cooperatewith the rails, to secure the cards thereon in an improved manner.

With filing drums of the type shown in the aforementioned patents, thecards are placed upon the card retaining rails by flexing the materialof the cards adjacent the keyhole-shaped slots therein, therebyeffectively but temporarily widening the opening at the narrow throatsof the slots and permitting them to move over the rail heads. For agreat many uses, drums and cards of that type are entirely satisfactory,but, in some cases, it is desirable to remove, from a drum, a relativelygreat plurality of cards simultaneously, as a group. The presentinvention provides a number of different modifications wherein the cardsmay be readily removed from the drum periphery, by radial movement, orby combined radial and axial movement.

A number of preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in theaccompanying drawings, but it must be understood that the invention isnot limitedto the specific details of construction shown herein anddescribed below, as many modifications will readily occur to one skilledin the art, from a consideration of the disclosure of thisspecification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of one form of card retaining railhaving a removable head.

Figure2 is a fragmentary side elevation and longitudinal section of theconstruction of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a further modificationand being a section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 4.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation and longitudinal section ofFigure 3.

Figures 5 and 6 are fragmentary transverse sectional views of modifiedforms of rails, having removable portions associated therewith.

The filing drum of the present invention, a portion of which is shown inFigure 1 comprises a pair of drum heads, which may be formed of stampedor spun metal, and a cylindrical rim I 2, preferably constructed of castaluminum, suitably machined, and secured upon shouldered portions of thedrum heads by tie-bolts which draw the heads together and firmly clampthe rim I2 in place, as is shown in the above-identified Patents Nos.2,046,655 and 2,231,029. The web 35 of the fixed, card-retaining rail 36projects outwardly from the rim I 2 and is continuous entirely aroundthe drum or substantially so. Certain sections of the head 36, however,are cut away, leaving the plane-sided web 35 free at its outer edge 31.A movable rail head 38, having a slot or groove 39 in its undersurface,is adapted to embrace the free edge 31 of this portion of the web 35, toconstitute a continuation of the fixed rail head 36. A friction springplate 40, pressed into a groove in the side face of the web 35, bearsagainst the inner face of the'groove 39 in the iemovable head section 38and retains the same in place. Thus, when the removable rail head 38 isin place, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the card retaining rail iscontinuous around the entire circumference of the drum. When it isdesired to remove a plurality of cards en bloc, it is simply necessaryto remove the rail head 38, leaving the continuous rail flange 35 inplace, and then move the cards onto that non-headed section, from whichposition they may be removed by radial movement.

As indicated in Figures 1 and 2, the removable head 38, as well as thefixed head 36, preferably have the same cross-sectional shape aspreviously described.

In accordance with the modification of Figures 3 andl4, spaced portionsof the fixed rail head 45 are cut away on undercut, scarfed planes 4?,48, downwardly to a line 49 corresponding to the outer edge 50 of theweb 5|, below the head 45.

A movable rail head 52, having inclined end faces 53, 54 is adapted tobe secured in alignment with the. fixed rail head sections by spring?pressed plungers 55, orthe like, disposed in sockets 56 in the undercut,scarfed faces of the fixed rail head sections. Thus, when the movablerail head 52 is in the position shown in Figures 3 and 4, it constitutesa continuation of the fixed rail head and a continuous rail is provided.When it is removed, however, the cards may be moved onto the non-headedfiange portion and removed en bloc from the filing drum.

If desired, the movable head section 52 may be pivotally secured to thefixed web for swinging movement about a radial axis, adjacent one end ofthe section 52 or at the center thereof. In some cases, however, it ispreferred to make the section entirely removable, as shown in theaccompanying drawings.

In Figure 5, a special shape of card retaining rail is disclosed. Thisrail comprises a fixed web (SH and a laterally projecting, substantiallyoval head 6! which, at the section shown, is removable from the web, topermit removal of cards en bloc. At a point spaced circumferentiallyfrom the section upon which Figure 5 is taken, the rail is solid and isprovided with an integral, fixed head corresponding in cross-section tothe head 6!. The removable head may be secured to the web in anyapproved manner, for instance, by spring-pressed plungers, similar tothose shown in Figures 3 and 4.

In Figure 6, a further modified rail section is shown. In this case, theuse of a keyhole-shaped slot in the card, comprising a throat havingpar.- allel edges leading to a circular opening is dis-. pensed with.Instead, a card having a generally, triangular, re-entrant opening 65 isprovided, defined by straight inclined side edges 66, 61 and an arcuateupper edge 68. This eliminates the sharp corners between the throat andthe cire cular opening in the other forms.

The card retaining rail is of similar shape. On the section shown inFigure 6, it comprises a fixed member 69 having substantially parallelside faces 76, ll, inclined outwardly toward one end of the drum, and amovable section 12 which is substantially triangular in cross-section.The movable section may be secured in place by a rib and grooveconnection 13 and by suitable means, such as spring-pressed plungers atthe ends. When the parts are assembled, as shown in Figure 6, the railsection has outwardly diverging side faces 18, 14, correspondinggenerally to the edges 68, 6'! of the slots in the cards, and an upper,arcuate surface 15, similar to the edges68 of the openings.

At a section spaced circumferentially from the plane upon which Figure 6is taken, the card retaining rail is solid and is of thesame,crosssectional shape as the combined members 69, 12. This form ofrail is advantageous 'in some cases, since the-cards engage the railalong an elongated line contact. The cards may be removed from the railen bloc by removing the section 12 and then moving the cards outwardlyon an inclined line as indicated by the arrow a, Figure 6. Individualcards, or cards in small groups, may be removed from the rail, as inother cases, by flexing the cards and thereby opening the slots.

The invention is not limited to the specific details of constructionshown in the accompanying drawings and described above, but includes allmodifications coming within the scope of the appended claims or theirequivalents.

I claim:

1. A rotary filing drum having a card retaining rail associated with itsrim, said rail comprising a web connected to the rim and a head theadapted to be embraced by the edges of apertures in the cards mounted onthe drum, a section of said head being removable from the web wherebythe cards may be removed by radial movement over the exposed end of theweb.

2. A rotatable filing drum comprising a rim, a substantially continuouscircumferentially extending web projected outwardly therefrom, a railhead carried by the web and adapted to be disposed within keyhole slotsin cards on the rim to retain the cards thereon, certain sections of thehead being removable relative to the adjacent lxgvleb, to permit removalof cards therefrom en 3. A rotary filing drum comprising a rim, acircumferentially extending web associated therewith, said webterminating at its outer end in a laterally enlarged, integral head,said head being cut away at spaced sections to provide a non headed websection, and an independent rail head removably secured to each of thelastnamed sections.

4. A filing drum comprising a substantially cylindrical rim, anoutwardly projecting card retaining rail associated with the rim andbein transversely enlarged at its outer end as compared with its innerend, spaced sections of the rail being comprised of a fixed part and amovable part, the movable part constituting the outer end enlargement,whereby, when the movable part is removed, the rail is no larger at itsouter end than at its inner end and the cards may be removed from thefixed rail part en bloc.

5. A rotary filing drum comprising a substantially cylindrical rim and acard retaining rail associated therewith, said rail in cross-sectionhaving straight sides diverging outwardly from the rim and providing arail of increasing thickness from the rim toward its outer end, wherebycards having re-entrant slots therein may be retained thereon, at leastone portion of said rail being made up from fixed and removablesections, the fixed section having substantially parallel side faces,whereby, when the movable section is removed, such cards may be removedfrom the fixed section by endwise and outward movement.

6. A rotary filing drum comprising a substantially cylindrical rim and acard retaining rail associated therewith, said rail having side facesdiverging outwardly from the rim and providing a rail of increasingthickness from the rim toward its outer end, whereby cards havingreentrant slots therein may be retained thereon, at least one portion ofsaid rail being made up from fixed and removable sections, the fixedsection having substantially parallel side faces and the removablesection being substantially triangular in cross-section, whereby, whenthe last-mentioned section is removed, cards may be removed from thefixed section by endwise and outward movement.

7. A rotary filing drum comprising a substantially cylindrical rim and acard retaining rail associated. therewith, said rail having an outwardlyprojecting web disposed in a plane perpendicular to the drum axis, and ahead projecting laterally from one face of the web toward one end of thedrum, the head of the rail, at one portion, being separable from theweb, whereby, when the head is removed, cards may be removed from thedrum by radial movement.

RICHARD P. SCHOLFIELD.

